Testimonials

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"Michael McCraine is one of the best young designers in the Los Angeles area! She has impeccable taste and her sense of space and flow is amazing. Michael took our little, boxed in rooms and turned them into light, flowing areas that looked SO much larger! She listened to us and worked with our ideas AND most importantly, budget. She really has a way of creating sophisticated, original spaces with a touch of whimsy and fun - while maintaining functionality and comfort."

-Cynthia B., Landscape designer

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I have used Michael and her company Fictional Homes since the day she opened and she never disappoints. She has exquisite taste and a great eye for the unusual. I have gotten many compliments from buyers and sellers alike about the thoughtfulness and effectiveness of the work she has done for us at Pence Hathorn Silver. I would highly recommend Fictional Homes. She is one of the brightest stars rising in a very competitive business.

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"Michael is fun to work with, honest and listens to what a client needs. I worked with Michael on my first house and she brought me ideas that changed our interior from a plain white, bland space into a lovely, sexy home. Afterwards, the Fortune 500 Company that my husband works with hired her to transform an old historic church in Pasadena into an innovative space for their product design and marketing teams. CEO's, executives, and employees visit the space when they want to escape their high rise offices and entertain clients in a modern and original atmosphere, one that encourages out-of-the box ideas and leadership...or maybe, just to play ping-pong!"

-Annette M., Filmmaker

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Michael truly knows how to read a home, inside and out. She is able to find the strengths and weaknesses of a home and alter her styling and staging to complement the home fully. She is aware of the buyer pool and neighborhoods and caters her staging to match. She is professional and meticulous with her work and is an absolutely pleasure to work with on all levels!

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As a developer, I invest in staging to increase the emotional attachment to my homes because this accomplishment ultimately maximizes the sales price, reduces the time on market and even strengthens the seller's position during escrow. The "right staging" should accomplish this goal; Fictional Homes’ staging accomplishes this goal better than any other stager that I’ve worked with. Michael brings to every project an elusive mix of market knowledge, consumer insight, spacial harmony, creative expression through massing, texture and color, attention to detail and ultimately a finely honed “edge”. She has become such a valued part of my team that I invite her to walk my projects early on because she invariably has thoughtful suggestions that add to the richness of the design. Perhaps equally important, Michael leads every Fictional Homes project which eliminates the variability/unpredictability you get with the largest stagers that have a mix of designers that they assign. Fictional Homes theoretically offers the same suite of services as many of the other top stagers, but the end result comes together at another level, every time.

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"I loved working with Michael. She guided us through the design process, always listening to our needs. She helped us achieve exactly what we wanted and uplifted cramped, dark rooms into beautiful living spaces. Easy to communicate with, patient, and made the experience fun."

-Kim S., Screenwriter

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"Michael McCraine is a pleasure to work with during every stage of a project. She has a great understanding of space, light and function. She knows what elements need to go into a space that will work within budget and at the same time transform those spaces into something truly magical. As an architect who works with many professionals in the design field, I find Michael's design abilities to be outstanding in many different circumstances."
-Jennifer D., Architect

-Jennifer D., Architect

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Michael struck a perfect combination of design and aesthetic to transform the empty space into an environment that people could connect with and feel comfortable in, allowing for the best possible experience that property could offer a perspective buyer. I look forward to finding more opportunities to work together.

Andrew Rhoda, Compass

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"Michael McCraine designed the interior of my house and then, a couple of years later, when my daughter was a few years older and needed an older girl's room, she came back and did her room all over again. Both times, I couldn't have been happier with the process and the results. Michael's got a great and original eye -- that much is pretty immediately apparent. But beyond that, she's got great intuition; she realizes, before you do, what it is you like and don't. And when she senses that you don't like something -- even if, like me, you can't quite articulate why -- she'll revise and rework and present you with something that's exactly what you wanted and pictured in your head. That happened time after time, and most of the time, I didn't even have the visual vocabulary to describe what I was picturing. But Michael can tease it out of you and run with what you give her. Beyond all that -- and this matters, too -- she's patient and kind and has an unbelievably dry and fun sense of humor. I couldn't recommend her more highly."

-Richard A., Writer, winner of 4 Primetime Emmy Awards

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"Ms. Michael helped me, in the course of one long day from assessment through an Ikea trip through final furniture and lighting installation, update, organize functionally, and better design stylistically, my Santa Monica home. I was awed at her great eye, and at her practical knowledge regarding how to improve the style and function of multiple rooms with stellar, classy results on a sorely low budget. She was solicitous of my preferences at every step of the way, but also confidently responded when I asked her what would work, and what would not. Despite my low confidence in the interior design arena when I need to create spaces myself, I absolutely recognize quality when I encounter it. Michael is the real, quality deal-- as the photos on her website reflect. I could not recommend her more highly."

-Elizabeth P., Attorney

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Lady Michael and her team are experts and we love them. Besides having exquisite taste and the inventory to compliment, they are top-top performers. They say what they do and do what they say, always on time and always stunning. Homes staged by Fictional Homes do not look staged, that's the magic. They simply look beautiful.

Diana Braun, Compass

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Staging a home properly is extremely important when marketing to today’s real estate consumers, and Fictional Homes/Lady Michael knows how to make a huge impression. Providing a stylish aesthetic with a cool and artistic flair, Fictional Homes gives that extra wow factor while still making a house feel like a home. I for one, love working with Lady Michael’s brilliant design team!